Healthcare

Psaki describes effort to promote vaccine confidence in ‘white conservative communities’

Published

2 years ago

April 13, 2021

The Biden administration is focusing its efforts on strengthening vaccine confidence in “white conservative communities” by promoting the vaccine on NASCAR, the country music television channel and shows like “Deadliest Catch,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.

.@PressSec on White House efforts to strengthen vaccine confidence in "white conservative communities":

"We've run PSAs on the Deadliest Catch, we're engaged with NASCAR and Country Music TV" pic.twitter.com/yX51FkuSOH
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 12, 2021

At a White House press briefing on Monday, a reporter asked what efforts were being taken to push vaccines in rural states like Mississippi, Ohio and Oklahoma where they were “having a hard time getting folks vaccinated.” The reporter cited that vaccination rates were only at 34% in these states.

Psaki said a large number of steps were being taken to strengthen vaccine confidence in “the highest-risk and hardest-hit communities” such as “conservative communities, white evangelicals.”

“We’ve run PSAs on ‘The Deadliest Catch,’ we’re engaged with NASCAR and Country Music TV,” Psaki said.

“We’re looking for a range of creative ways to get directly connected to white conservative communities. We won’t always be the best messengers, but we’re still trying to meet people where they are, but also empower local organizations,” she continued.

A recent poll by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation found that Republicans and white evangelical Christians were most likely to refuse the Covid vaccination with almost 30% of each group saying they’ll “definitely not” get vaccinated.

Many are worried that this will impact herd immunity.

President Joe Biden announced a $10 billion investment in March to strengthen “vaccine confidence” in hardest-hit, highest-risk communities.

$3 billion went to strengthening vaccine confidence, according to a White House briefing.

Follow Annaliese Levy on Twitter @AnnalieseLevy

China

FDA will work with China to import cancer drugs due to U.S. shortages

Published

2 days ago

June 7, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

Earlier this week the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it will be working to import chemotherapy drugs from, of all places, China. The drug, called Cisplatin, is to help “ramp up supply amidst rampant drug shortages in the U.S.” reports Foreign Desk News.

Foreign Desk News writes:

Cisplatin comes from drugmaker Qilu Pharmaceutical, which is marketed and produced in China but has not been approved by the FDA. According to a May 24 letter, Qilu will work with the Canadian-based drug company Apotex to import and distribute the medication, which will come in 50-milligram vials with Chinese labels.

“The FDA is responding to yet another generic drug shortage,” said Edmund F. Haislmaier, an expert in healthcare policy and markets at The Heritage Foundation. “The underlying cause of those shortages is that generic drugs have become low-margin commodity products,” he added.

Last week on Twitter, FDA commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said the partnership with Qilu Pharmaceutical is temporary but will provide patients with a potentially life-extending drug.

“The public should rest assured that we will continue all efforts within our authority to help the industry that manufactures and distributes these drugs meet all patient needs for the oncology drugs impacted by shortages,” Califf said.

The public should rest assured that we will continue all efforts within our authority to help the industry that manufactures and distributes these drugs meet all patient needs for the oncology drugs impacted by shortages. https://t.co/8XvOuJzSL4

— Dr. Robert M. Califf (@DrCaliff_FDA) June 3, 2023

Foreign Desk News adds:

The latest move by the FDA is sure to spark concern and debate in Congress, as lawmakers in the House and Senate have called on the Biden administration to de-couple the U.S. economy from the Chinese markets, given Beijing’s aggressive push to expand in the South-China Sea and eventually take over the island state of Taiwan. China has also spread illegal and dangerous synthetic opioids and fentanyl drugs across the U.S. southern border, resulting in the devastating deaths of many Americans.